Brazil Marks One Year of ECA Digital With Platform Design Changes and School Adjustments

Overview

• The ECA Digital completed its first year and has forced some platforms to alter products by removing features like infinite scroll, suspending chat for minors and requiring accounts linked to parents or guardians.
• Services with more than one million users under 18 must begin producing semiannual transparency reports that detail how they are complying with the law’s safety, data and supervision duties.
• Civil-society groups and Safernet Brasil say many companies are ignoring or slow to implement the rules, creating enforcement gaps that regulators and prosecutors will need to close.
• Schools and youth programs report practical changes in daily routines, including new parental verification steps, more parent notifications and altered classroom activities after chat suspensions.
• Authorities and advocates expect the Ministério Público to supervise compliance and push for clearer technical standards and public education, and lawmakers are proposing follow-up rules that would raise age protections and add limits on social features.